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God Gives His People Jericho - The Book of Joshua · Bible in a Year with Jack Graham

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  Speaker 1: So the people shouted when the priests blew with the trumpets.
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  Speaker 1: And it came to pass, when the people heard the
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  Speaker 1: sound of the trumpet, and the people shouted with a
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  Speaker 1: great shout, that the wall fell down flat. So that
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  Speaker 1: the people went up into the city, every man straight
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  Speaker 1: before him, and they took the city. Dear Lord, today's
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  Speaker 1: reading has encouraged me to view each challenge in my
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  Speaker 1: life as a Jericho moment. When the enemy piles bad
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  Speaker 1: news and scare tactics in front of me, like the
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  Speaker 1: wall of that great city, instead of despair, I will
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  Speaker 1: equip myself with praise and worship. Even when the strategy
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  Speaker 1: doesn't make sense, I will remain obedient to your plan,
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  Speaker 1: because I know that you've never lost a battle. I
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  Speaker 1: will not rely on what worked in the past to
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  Speaker 1: conquer the wall in front of me, But instead, I
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  Speaker 1: will leave my life open to the marvelous possibilities and
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  Speaker 1: new methods you will use to get me through the
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  Speaker 1: wall set up by the enemy. With this truth, I
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  Speaker 1: will march forward into my future. I will prepare my
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  Speaker 1: voice to give the shout of victory in advance because
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  Speaker 1: I am an unconditional praiser. Thank you, God, that my
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  Speaker 1: life has the reputation of one who walks with you.
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  Speaker 1: Look out, devil. I'm coming, and you can't stop what
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  Speaker 1: God is doing in my life. In Jesus' name, amen.
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  Speaker 1: Bible in a Year, brought to you by BibleInAYear.com.
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  Speaker 2: Click the link in the description to grow closer to God. There,
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  Speaker 2: you'll find daily prayers, Bible plans, sleep stories, and so
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  Speaker 3: God gives his people Jericho, In our last story, we
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  Speaker 3: learned about Joshua leading God's people through the Jordan River.
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  Speaker 3: God parted the Jordan and split the waters so Israel
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  Speaker 3: could walk through towards the Promised Land. Now Israel finds
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  Speaker 3: themselves in the face of Jericho, a great city with
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  Speaker 3: vast walls. It is time to learn of God using
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  Speaker 3: unconventional tactics to take over a city. Inspired by the
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  Speaker 3: book of Joshua.
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  Speaker 4: I'm so glad you joined us on the Bible in
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  Speaker 4: a Year podcast today. But before we get to today's episode,
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  Speaker 4: I want you to know that I would absolutely love
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  Speaker 4: to send you my daily devotional that will give you
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  Speaker 4: fresh encouragement every single morning and day. From the moment
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  Speaker 4: we wake up to the moment our head finally hits
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  Speaker 4: the pillow, there are thousands of things demanding our attention.
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  Speaker 4: But it's in the midst of all this crush and
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  Speaker 4: hustle and bustle that you and I need peace and
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  Speaker 4: truth in God's Word. That's why I want to help
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  Speaker 4: you spend time each day growing in God's life-giving, life-changing
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  Speaker 4: Word by sending you my free daily email devotional, PowerPoint Today.
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  Speaker 4: So visit jackgram.org to sign up for your PowerPoint Today devotional.
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  Speaker 4: That's jackgram.org, jackgram.org. In yesterday's episode, God led his people
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  Speaker 4: across the Jordan River. As the Levite priests carried the
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  Speaker 4: Ark of the Covenant into the mighty river, when their
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  Speaker 4: feet touched the water, the river split in two, and
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  Speaker 4: the people walked across on dry ground into the promised land.
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  Speaker 4: They set up a monument to God's faithfulness on the
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  Speaker 4: other side and worshiped God for all that he had done.
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  Speaker 4: Today we will hear once again how God shows his
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  Speaker 4: might and power, his miracle-working power, in a way that
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  Speaker 4: no one could really have expected. Joshua, the commander, the
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  Speaker 4: general of the Lord's army, will meet someone who will
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  Speaker 4: show him that only God can give him victory in Jericho.
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  Speaker 4: So let's listen now to today's reading.
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  Speaker 3: Joshua sat quietly gazing at the city below. Night was
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  Speaker 3: drawing closer and he had climbed a nearby hill to
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  Speaker 3: get a better vantage point. He studied the walls surrounding
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  Speaker 3: the colossal city. He measured them. and imagined his army
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  Speaker 3: attempting to breach it. Impossible. They would pick them apart
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  Speaker 3: one by one if they attempted to storm the city walls.
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  Speaker 3: If they entered through the main gate, it would be
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  Speaker 3: a funnel straight into the enemy's sword. Could they climb it? No.
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  Speaker 3: Could they avoid it? Not if they wanted to keep
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  Speaker 3: the land. If the people of Israel were going to
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  Speaker 3: have the promised land, the walls of Jericho had to
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  Speaker 3: be taken down. Joshua made his way down the hill
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  Speaker 3: with the sun setting behind him. Night had draped itself
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  Speaker 3: over the horizon like a warm blanket, and the stars
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  Speaker 3: began to sprinkle the sky. Joshua looked up and saw
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  Speaker 3: a man standing a few yards in front of him.
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  Speaker 3: The man was standing upright with his sword drawn in
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  Speaker 3: his hand. Joshua peered at the man, inching slower towards
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  Speaker 3: him with his hand ready to draw his sword. Are
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  Speaker 3: you for us? Joshua asked. Or are you for our enemies?
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  Speaker 3: The man looked at Joshua, seemingly uninterested in his specific question. No,
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  Speaker 3: the man answered. I am the commander of the Lord's armies,
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  Speaker 3: and I have come. As the words left the man's mouth,
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  Speaker 3: Joshua fell on his face. Joshua could barely speak with
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  Speaker 3: his face so close to the ground. What does the
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  Speaker 3: Lord say? Joshua said, words muffled by the dirt. Take
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  Speaker 3: off your sandals, Joshua, for the place where you stand
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  Speaker 3: is holy ground. So Joshua did. Stories of old rushed
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  Speaker 3: into Joshua's mind. He was reminded of how Moses' journey
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  Speaker 3: once began, standing among God on holy ground. Joshua knew
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  Speaker 3: that God stood before him as a victorious commander. Joshua
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  Speaker 3: listened intently to what the battle strategy was. He would
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  Speaker 3: have never predicted what would come next. After receiving instruction,
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  Speaker 3: Joshua gathered his men to strategize. The morning had come,
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  Speaker 3: and the walls of Jericho blocked the early sun from
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  Speaker 3: shining across the valley. The walls were elevated and locked
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  Speaker 3: from the outside and the inside. Ever since the Israelites
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  Speaker 3: crossed the Jordan River, Jericho shut its gates so none
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  Speaker 3: could come or go. Joshua led his people towards the city.
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  Speaker 3: As one mass, the armies of Israel marched forth with
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  Speaker 3: the Ark of the Covenant before them. Leading the way
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  Speaker 3: were seven priests with seven ram's horns. As God had instructed,
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  Speaker 3: the army marched around the city walls silently. No man
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  Speaker 3: said a word. With intensity and purpose, they looked forward
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  Speaker 3: towards the Ark of the Covenant. The priests blew their
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  Speaker 3: horns continually, and the beautiful trumpeting sounds echoed throughout the valley.
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  Speaker 3: The people of Jericho watched, confused and relieved that there
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  Speaker 3: was no attack. For six days the armies of Israel
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  Speaker 3: marched once around the city. They said nothing. There were
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  Speaker 3: no battle cries, no swords banging against their shields, or
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  Speaker 3: violent shouts of war. Neither swords nor spears were drawn,
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  Speaker 3: but God was on the move. The men arose early
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  Speaker 3: in the morning on the seventh day. The cool dawn
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  Speaker 3: air filled the soldiers' lungs. The rest of Israel watched
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  Speaker 3: as they prepared to leave again. They strapped their armor
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  Speaker 3: to their chests, held their spears firmly, and marched forth
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  Speaker 3: to Jericho. This time the armies of Israel marched around
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  Speaker 3: the city seven times. By the fourth time, the eastern
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  Speaker 3: sun was risen firmly in the middle of the sky.
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  Speaker 3: It beat down mercilessly. Beads of sweat dripped from the
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  Speaker 3: furrowed brows of Israelite soldiers. A cloud of dust followed
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  Speaker 3: them as they marched as one. The priests continued their trumpeting,
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  Speaker 3: signaling war. As the men finished marching across the city
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  Speaker 3: a seventh time, Joshua stopped, and the army stopped with him,
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  Speaker 3: remaining silent. He turned to his troops. With a passionate voice,
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  Speaker 3: Joshua cried out,' Shout! Shout, for the Lord has given
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  Speaker 3: you this city!' Today the city of Jericho will fall
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  Speaker 3: as an offering to God. Shout! So the people shouted.
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  Speaker 3: A thunderous roar boomed from the army of Israel. Cries
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  Speaker 3: of war and trumpets echoed and shook the earth. One
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  Speaker 3: by one the stones of the wall began to shift
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  Speaker 3: in their place. The walls of Jericho began to split.
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  Speaker 3: Cracks and clanging pierced the ears of everyone in the
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  Speaker 3: city as the walls began to crumble. The battle cries
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  Speaker 3: of Israel continued like the roar of a lion. The
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  Speaker 3: great walls of Jericho bowed before the might of God.
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  Speaker 3: The earth trembled as the wall fell to the ground.
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  Speaker 3: Screams of terror could be heard from the city. The
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  Speaker 3: broken walls stood before them, and Joshua, standing on one
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  Speaker 3: of the large stones, shouted, to his men with sword
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  Speaker 3: raised high, Take this city! Yet Rahab the prostitute shall
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  Speaker 3: live and do nothing that will make your hearts stumble.
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  Speaker 3: The men stormed the city like a tsunami. Swords and
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  Speaker 3: shields clashed as the Jericho soldiers ran towards them. The
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  Speaker 3: sounds of war could be heard from miles away, and
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  Speaker 3: panicked screams littered the city. Flesh was torn from bone,
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  Speaker 3: and men tumbled on the floor wrestling. The ugliness of
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  Speaker 3: war and the blood of Jericho soldiers painted the streets.
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  Speaker 3: Hours had passed, and screams were replaced with silence. Joshua
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  Speaker 3: drew a deep breath. They had won their first city.
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  Speaker 3: Jericho lay there crumbled and broken before them. Joshua looked
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  Speaker 3: to heaven and sighed deeply. He smiled, then continued forward
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  Speaker 3: to gather his people again. God had given them the land.
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  Speaker 3: The promises of God had never seemed closer. Yet, there
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  Speaker 3: were more battles to be won, more blood to be shed,
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  Speaker 3: and more heartache to experience. The reputation of Joshua would
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  Speaker 3: glide across the land like a hurricane. And the reputation
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  Speaker 3: of God crumbling the walls of Jericho would shatter the
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  Speaker 3: hearts of all those who would come against Israel.
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  Speaker 4: As today's story begins, Joshua is surveying the challenge that
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  Speaker 4: is ahead of him and the people of God. He
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  Speaker 4: is certain that God would give them all the victory,
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  Speaker 4: but he did not know quite how. Fear has seized
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  Speaker 4: the city and nobody's coming or going in Jericho. They
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  Speaker 4: locked it down tight. Then Joshua meets a very powerful man,
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  Speaker 4: a warrior like himself. And Joshua wants to know, are
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  Speaker 4: you friend or are you foe? Are you with us
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  Speaker 4: or are you against us? That's when he discovers that
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  Speaker 4: this warrior is no ordinary soldier. He is the commander
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  Speaker 4: of the Lord's army. And he's there to help. Joshua
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  Speaker 4: immediately bows in humble adoration because he realized this is
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  Speaker 4: indeed God himself. Just as God instructed Moses when he
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  Speaker 4: appeared to him at the burning bush, this commander tells
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  Speaker 4: Joshua to remove his sandals because he is on holy ground.
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  Speaker 4: Joshua listens closely to God's instructions, and he will follow
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  Speaker 4: them perfectly and obediently. The ark is to go before
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  Speaker 4: the army as they march around the city walls of Jericho.
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  Speaker 4: They were to march in silence. Can you imagine what
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  Speaker 4: the citizens of Jericho must have been thinking? It was perplexing, irritating,
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  Speaker 4: and terrifying. These were God's people. And for six days
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  Speaker 4: this continued, this silent march around the city. No one screaming,
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  Speaker 4: no one beating their chest or pounding shields, nothing of
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  Speaker 4: horns bellowing through the town, across the landscape. No, just silence,
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  Speaker 4: eerie silence. And on the seventh day, Joshua had the
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  Speaker 4: army circle the city seven times. And they marched, waiting
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  Speaker 4: for instructions. After seven laps, Joshua told the people to
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  Speaker 4: shout in one voice. Shout to the God who had
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  Speaker 4: given them the city. And what happened was truly amazing.
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  Speaker 4: We read about it in Joshua 6.20. So the people
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  Speaker 4: shouted and the trumpets were blown. As soon as the
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  Speaker 4: people heard the sound of the trumpet, the people shouted
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  Speaker 4: a great shout. And the wall fell down flat, so
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  Speaker 4: that the people went up into the city, every man
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  Speaker 4: straight before him, and they captured the city. The trumpets blew,
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  Speaker 4: the people shouted, and the walls fell down. God has
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  Speaker 4: shown them his might with waters, with fire, with the
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  Speaker 4: earth opening up to swallow evil men, and in so
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  Speaker 4: many ways through the desert. But now God in control
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  Speaker 4: of all things gives them the city. The God who's
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  Speaker 4: in control of the universe, the God who's in control
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  Speaker 4: of the world, doesn't need anything for walls to fall down.
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  Speaker 4: He just needs us to trust him and obey him.
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  Speaker 4: God can work through the invisible, through sound waves to
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  Speaker 4: bring down entire city walls. The impenetrable fortress of Jericho
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  Speaker 4: fell and was given over to Israel because of the
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  Speaker 4: sound of the voices of God's people. When we lift
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  Speaker 4: our voices in faith before God and do what he says,
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  Speaker 4: He will tear down walls and give us victories for
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  Speaker 4: His kingdom. Not necessarily physical walls, but spiritual strongholds. And
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  Speaker 4: when we lift our voices as God's people, there is
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  Speaker 4: no limit to what God can do. Today's reading ends
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  Speaker 4: with bloodshed and human death and suffering. It was a
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  Speaker 4: necessary cleansing of wickedness from the place where God's people
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  Speaker 4: were entering to keep them from becoming corrupted and turn
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  Speaker 4: away from God. There would be many more battles for
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  Speaker 4: God's people to fight. And God's name would be made
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  Speaker 4: known throughout these victories that he would give them as
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  Speaker 4: long as they remain committed unto him. Dear God, thank
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  Speaker 4: you for this incredible story of the walls of Jericho
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  Speaker 4: and the faith of God's people and the power of
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  Speaker 4: your presence. We are reminded that you're the God of
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  Speaker 4: the invisible as well as the visible and that you
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  Speaker 4: give us victory against every foe as we fight spiritual battles.
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  Speaker 4: Help us to courageously, boldly lift our voices and praise
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  Speaker 4: your name until the whole world hears. Amen. Thank you
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  Speaker 4: for listening to today's Bible in a Year podcast. I'm
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  Speaker 4: Jack Graham from Dallas, Texas. And before we go, I
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  Speaker 4: want you to know that I would love to send
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  Speaker 4: you my daily devotional to give you fresh encouragement every
• 15:44
  Speaker 4: single day. So visit jackgraham.org to sign up for your
• 15:48
  Speaker 4: PowerPoint Today devotional. That's jackgraham.org.
• 15:53
  Speaker 2: If today's reading moved you, the Pray.com app is where
• 15:56
  Speaker 2: you can go deeper with daily prayers, Bible plans, and more.
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  Speaker 1: Download it free.
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  Speaker 2: Link in the description.